Chemo First

Short Version: We get to leave after the radiology oncologist appoint and PET scan on Tuesday.  So we will be home on Wednesday since the appointments are in the afternoon.  I will start Chemo for 6 months in Pratt/Wichita with Dr. Troung.  I will then come back to MDA for a double mastectomy and possibly the hysterectomy at that time too.  I may get the port for Chemo delivery next Thurs or Friday and Dr. Nicholas will do this.  I will then see Dr. Troung early the following week and we are shooting for me to begin Chemo that week too.

Today was another long day as little Miss Delaney decided to wake up at 1:30.  I put her into bed with us and she tossed and turned all night.  So I got up around 5:25 to get ready for my 8 am appointment with Dr. Wagner.  We met with Dr. Wagner’s team and they were fantastic.  All agreed that a double mastectomy was the way to go.  She also said that she might be able to get the gynecological oncologist to do my hysterectomy during the mastectomy.  I was happy about this, as I was told previously that they wouldn’t want to do this. However Dr. Wagner thought it would be fine since the hysterectomy is so minor compared to the mastectomy.  I’m glad not to have to wait for yet another step and be under anesthesia again.  She is going to try and save my breast skin so the plastic surgeon can use it as I don’t have much skin to graft.  She looked over the mammo and there is just barely enough margin to make this happen so she suggested I do chemo first in hopes the tumor will shrink and give her more margin to save my skin and make the process easier on me and the surgeons.  Of course the most important thing is to remove the cancer, so if she has to cut skin to ensure this she will.

We then met with Dr. Green and she concurs that chemo first is the best route.  It will also allow us to know if the cancer is responding to the chemo since it will possibly get smaller. She said that we could go home Tuesday after our appointment with the radiology oncologist, Dr. Smith. It’s interesting as Dr. Wagner doesn’t think I will need radiation but Dr. Green thinks I will.  So I guess Tuesday will tell.  Radiation will be 4-6 weeks and will more than likely take place in Houston, so it’s really a pretty big decision Dr. Smith will make.

I will have weekly low dose chemo for 12 weeks in Pratt with Dr. Troung then I will come back to MDA for imagining and appointments with the gynecological oncologist and reconstructive surgeon. I will then have FAC Chemo every 3 weeks for 4 times.  Once Chemo is completed, I will have to wait 4-6 weeks for the mastectomy and hysterectomy which I will do at MDA.  Then if I need radiation, I will start that sometime after the surgery; we will know more about that on Tuesday if Dr. Smith deems it necessary. 

I think chemo during this time of year and through the summer is a great idea for me as there are less illness and the kids are not in school being exposed to as many viruses.  So I’m hoping this will also help me keep healthier so I can finish the chemo on schedule.  The low dose will allow the oncologists, Dr. Troung and Dr. Green, to see how my white blood cells react and sort of ease me into the higher dose.  Also, doing chemo gives me time to get ‘adjusted’ to the mastectomy.  As Stephen says about that, don’t think of it as losing your breast, think of it as leveling an old building and putting up a fantastic new structure in its place.  Wow, that’s an interesting analogy, but at least he’s got a positive attitude too. 

 I also met a fantastic lady in the waiting room who told me she turned over her worries and fear to God and has not had side effects from her Chemo. After I got called back to see Dr. Wagner’s nurse, mom was in the waiting room with Delaney for a little while until we saw Dr. Wagner, and this precious woman told her to tell me also to ‘let it go’  This is so true and I have let this all be in the Lord’s hands.  He’s my maker and he only has the power to make this a success, not me.  I have to give up control. We are coming home next week, yeah. Thank you God for my Healing.